The County of Mendocino Health and Human Services Agency building at the shopping center on South State Street and East Gobbi Street will undergo renovations to fix the awning that covers the front of the building due to safety concerns. The homeless camps that form under the awning nights and weekends will be displaced by the construction.

Steve Dunnicliff, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Mendocino County, says that the county is concerned that the soffit or plaster around the awning could collapse, putting anyone under the awning at risk. The building awning gutter system is leaking water and has softened the soffit plaster and rusted the metal within the system. The water leakage has gone on for years and is concealed from view by stucco. The leaks do not appear to affect the roof. The recent wet weather has also exacerbated the area and increased risks. Dunnicliff says the project is a priority because of the safety hazard the building presents with sections falling off and the unknown nature of when exactly parts of the soffit could collapse.

The immediate process of pursuing a contract to take down roofing materials like the overhead soffit will last a couple of weeks. A local construction firm will be in charge of the emergency removal. The County has also begun the broader process of replacing the awnings with something that won’t cause problems in the future. Dunnicliff says they are working with an architect to get some design proposals in place to replace the awning. The more significant work of replacing the awning would go to a bid, according to Dunnicliff.

The County of Mendocino put temporary fencing panels in on Jan. 29 to secure the area and make sure they are minimizing any danger to staff or anybody in the covered area. The recent October fires caused the supply of the fencing panels to be delayed, and it took about a week and a half longer to get the fencing panels in place. Walkways in and out of the building are still available for people who need to go inside.

Carmel Angelo, the Chief Executive Officer of Mendocino County, says that the process will take about three months because the fires have limited the number of contractors available for work. One of the reasons the building came to their attention was because a large segment of the homeless population sleeps under the awning at night, putting them at risk.

“Our first concern is the health and safety of our staff and the public,” Angelo said. “That’s the number one reason we are fencing it off.”